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(Model.)

P. WPPGKHAM aus. D. COOPER.

l BILL PILE. No. 302,933.

Patented Aug- 5, 1884.

N4 PETERS. Phoxo-Lilhegnpxer. wnningm, D. c.

ETTEE STATES PATENT OETTEE,

PETER lV. PECKI-IAM AND SAMUEL D. COOPER, OE NEW YORK, N. Y.;

v SAID COOPER ASSIGNOR TO SATD PEOKHAM.

BILL- SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 302,933, dated August 5, 1884.

Application filed October 15, 1831. Renewed December S22, 1883. (Model.)

.To all whom t may concern: l

Be it known that we, PETER XV. PEeKnAM and SAMUEL D. COOPER, both of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bill-Files; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, making a part of this specification.

Our invention relates to that class of bill illes constructed with a base-plate carrying fixed receiving-wires, and provided with connectcd hinged or vibratingtransfer-wires closing against the 'fixed wires, to form therewith a pair of loops.

The object of our improvements is to so construct a bill-file that the ends of the transferwires will be iirmly held against the ends of the ixed needles by means of offset bearings or projections on the under side of the baseplate, forming a seat, and a flat tension-spring so Organized that whenever the transfer-wires are thrown back from the needles the leverage obtained bythe contact of the transferwires with the edges of the apertures in the base-plate, through which the latter pass, serves to cause the connecting-arm thereof to force out the spring' and ride upon the offset bearing, and rest beyond the center thereof, in which condition the transfer-wires are rel tained in an open position for access to the needles.

Another object of our improvements is to construct a baseplate of a billiile with a shouldered iiange to iit against the upper edge of the tablet, and fasten the same to the tablet by a single screw.

Another object of our improvements is to produce a simple and cheap, as well as durable, bill-le for the trade.

Vith these objects and others in view our improvements consist in the novel construction and combination of parts, as will be hereinafter more fully described.

Figure l of the drawings is a view in perspective of our improved bill-file and tablet, showing bills or letters and a number of in- 5o dex-strips Yfiled thereon, with a cord in place ready for binding the same. Eig. 2 is a central transverse section of the bill-Ele secured upon a tablet, the transfer-wires being thrown back. Fig. 3 is a similar view with the transfer-wires closed. Fig. 4L is a plan view of the bill-lilo and upper end of the tablet, illustrating the combination therewith of its indexstrips; Fig. 5, a view illustrating one of the strips detached; Fig. 6, a plan view of the under side ofthe base-plate of the bill-ille dctached from the tablet, and Fig. 7 aview illustrating a modificationin mode of confining the vibrating transfer-hooks.

In the annexed drawings, forming a part of this specification, the letter A is a metallic base-plate, made by preference in the form of the letter T. The under side of the plate is recessed, leaving side edges, c a, Fig. 6, projecting therefrom, which widen gradually from its inner to its outer end, so that when the bottom of the plate rests upon a plane surface the top of the plate is inclined, as shown in Figs. 2, 3, and 7 rlhe upper deeper edge of the base is wider than the side'edges, so as to project beyond them (see at I), Figs. 2 and 3) as far as the thickness of the tablet to be used with the file. From this projecting edge a flange, c, projects outwardly to furnish an eye, by which the file may be hung up.

D D are receiving wires or needles, firmly riveted at their lower ends to the inner or lower cross-bar of the base A. The upper ends of these iixed wires or needles are beveled off from their inner side outwardly, to form cutting or piercing ends, and eyes f f are formed through said beveled ends in a direction parallel with the length of the base A.

G G are vibrating transfer-wires passing through apertures in the upper cross-bar of the base A, and connected on the under side of the same by an arm, G, formed in one piece therewith. rlhe wires G G are the same distance apart as theiix'ed wires D D, and they each curve over to form au arch which shall close down upon the opposite fixed wire. (Sec Fig. 3.) The end of each vibrating transferwire is beveled off to present a counterpart to the beveled end of the opposite iixed wire or needle, so that when the two meet and close a continuous wire loop or rin is formed there- ICO by. (See Fig. `3.) The beveled faces of the Vibrating transfer-wires serve, also, when the wires are thrown back, as a gag'e to determine the distance at which the needles shall pierce the paper to be led. (See dotted lines, Fig. 2.) As the movement of the transfer-wire is always the same, the gage is invariable for all papers, and they are made to drop upon the needles uniformly with their upper edges all in line. The gagefthusprovided by the ends of the transfer-wires avoids the necessity of intermediate standards for the ,purpose between the needles and transfer-wires. The transfer-wires G G pass loosely through the apertures in the base A. Their connectingarm G rests against the under side of said base, which is somewhat thickened at this point, and offsets H H are cast to project from said under side immediately in front of the connecting-arm, so that when the wires G G are closed upon the. needles D the connectingarm shall bear against said offsets. A flat spring, I, is placed with one end resting upon the connecting-arm G/ and its other end upon the edge of a shoulder in the central portion of the base. Its intermediate length is thus left wholly unsupported, and it is confined in this position and made to bear upon the arm G by means of a rivet, J, inserted through the spring and the base at a point somewhat removed from the shoulder supporting the rivet end of the spring. The wires G G,when thrown back from the needles D D, swing upon the edges ofthe apertures in the base-plate as upon pivots, and their connecting-arm G is forced thereby forward and made to ride up upon the offsets H H. (See Fig. 2.) To facilitate this movement the faces of the offsets are inclined or rounded off. As the arm rides up upon the offsets the spring I is forced out. 'Ihe offsets are so adjusted in height as that when the vibrating transfer-wires are thrown back to the proper gage the connecting-arm will rest upon-the top of the offsets, as shown in Fig. 2, and their further movement is then arrested either by the restricted diameter of the apertures through which the wires pass or by means of a stop, K, projecting from the under side of the base.

L is a tablet, made of a thin sheet of wood shaved oft' from the log in the direction of the grain, and re-enforced and strengthened by means of layers of paper or cloth glued or cemented thereto on both sides thereof, and varnished so as to make it water-proof and durable. The combination of the layers of paper or cloth with the opposite faces of the thin sheet of wood, in connection with the film of glue, produces a very light, strong, and cheap tablet, which may be rendered useful as a writing-surface by coating it with slate or liquid silica. The base-plate A, holding the needles and transfer-wires, is attached to the tablet by means of a single screw, M, passing through the board into a threaded seat in the lower end of the base, the upper end of the base being immovably secured by its projecting fiange or edge I), which bears against and engages the upper edge of the tablet. The base A is placed upon the convex side of the tablet, so that the tendency of the board to curve is checked and ultimately overcome.

P P are index-strips, of a length equal to or exceedingy the width of the base A, and upon which are imprinted, severally, the letters of the alphabet, one upon the, margin of each strip, at such point as that when the margin of the strip below the letter is cut away and the several strips are brought into register in due order the letters shall all appear 1n order on the one side thereof. Preferably two series of strips are employed for the one alphabet, one series being narrower than the other, as shown in the drawings, so that the entire alphabet is condensed in two rows of letters, instead of being extended in a single row. Apertures R R (see Fig. 5) are pierced (or the proper position thereof indicated by marks) near the outer margins of the strips, to register exactly with the needles D D, so that, although the strips are placed upon the needles separately at different times, the strips so filed will, if inserted as indicatedby said apertures or registermarks R It, fall into proper position, as shown in the drawings, Figs. l and 4c.

In the use of the apparatus such only of the index-strips are used'as may be required in connection with the papers filed. Hence if no papers be filed calling for any one letter of the index, that letter is not used, and the process of finding papers on the file is greatly simplied by this omission -of all unnecessary letters from the index.

rIhe combination of the index-strips P P, bearing the register-marks RR, with the needles D D, and with the gage produced by the ends of the transfer-wires when thrown back and stopped, as described, obviates the necessity of separate standards for securing the index, as heretofore employed.

Instead of causingthe connecting-arm G of the transfer-wires G G to ride up upon offsets H H when thrown back, an equivalent device may be substituted by forming the connecting-arm with an angular cross-section adapted IOC) IIO

to engage an inclined surface on the seat of 1 the spring, as illustrated in Fig. 7, so that when the arm G is thrown forward by the vileaving the ends remaining in the eyes to be then drawn out and tied together on the opposite sides of the file of papers, binding them neatly in their order.

Vhat We claim as our invention is 1. In a bill-file, the combination, With the recessed base-plate A, formed with a support near the end, carrying the iiXed needles and vibrating transfer-wires, of the nat spring I, bearing at one end upon the support of the baseplate, and the other end resting upon the connecting arm of the vibrating transferivires, with a rivet, J, compressing and confining the said spring at a point remove/d from its end bearings, substantially as shown and set forth.

2. A base-plate for a bill-file, constructed on its under surface with the offset bearings or projections H, in combination with the vibrating transfer-Wires G and their connectingarm G7 Working on the under side of and in Contact with the bearings of the base-plate and the iiat tension-spring I, substantially as and lfor the purpose set forth.

In a billile, the combination, with the vibrating transfer-WiresrG G and their connecting-arm G', a flat tension-spring, I, and

[ the offset-bearings I-I on the base-pl'ate, of the stops K, arranged in front ofthe bearings I-I,

PETER XV. PEGKHAM. SAMUEL D. COOPER. W'itnesses:

J. F. Aoinu, Jr., FULLER WALKER.

for limiting the backward movement of the 

